Depositors
already have to cope with near-zero interest rates, but paying just to
leave money in the bank would be highly unusual and unwelcome for
companies and households.

The warning by bank executives highlights the dangers of one strategy
the Fed could use to offset an eventual “tapering” of the $85bn a month
in asset purchases that have fuelled global financial markets for the
last year.

Minutes of the Fed’s October meeting published last week showed it was heading towards a taper in the coming
months – perhaps as soon as December – but wants to find a different
way to add stimulus at the same time.